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Topic: Playing way too rough! (Read 4774 times)

We bring Dixie to the dog park everyday to let her get out all of that crazy energy. She loves other dogs but we have quickly run into a problem. She isn't big but she is strong. And she growls when she plays which I heard is normal. Occasionally there will be dogs that think they can keep up and will play with her. She starts playing so rough and growling (playing) but the other dogs never think she's playing. Which leads to them not playing but actually fighting. I can always hear the tone of her growls change from play to not play. She also can't seem to understand that she can't play as rough with some as she does others. There's a collie that comes and she has lots of energy and wants to play but Dixie is jumping all over her and running circles around her and that makes the collie nervous and she won't play. I just don't know what to do to try to help her to have better play manners. I don't want to not take her bc she enjoys it so much and loves other dogs and people. I need help!!

Rough play is normal for boxers but other dogs don't get it sometimes. Sounds like she is being a bratty puppy. She might just need to be put in her place by another dog to 'get it'.

I agree. There are times when poor Macie can't even stand up without Chloe chewing on her neck and bouncing in her face. But if Macie tires of it she lets her know.

My only other suggestion would be...has she had any obedience classes for socialization? I ask this and will honestly tell you that I haven't ever taken any of my dogs. But it seems to help them be calmer in multiple dog situations from what I hear from others.

I went through 24 weeks of training with my yorkie so I was just applying all I learned with him, with Dixie. I was hoping going to the dog park would help her socialization. Especially because she really is dog friendly. She just is what you said....a brat. Its like she's bullying them but I know she's just trying to play. Yesterday a dog did tell her off though.

There are quite a few dogs that don't like to play with Precious because she is so vocal, and rough. They are fine with her at first but then she gets wound up and when she jumps up on them they get intimidated and then a fight starts.

Boxers do have a funny way of paying which some dogs take as being aggressive..I would just continue bringing her and when things get out of hand stop her and maybe channel her energy somewhere else..I love when there are other boxers at the dog park because the dogs will play with them

Question - What sort of socialization with other dogs did she get before she came to you? I feel like there are two basic situations you could be in, but which one is determined but your girl's exposure to other dogs when she was a young pup (say between 3 and 6 mos).

To be honest I don't really know. We got her from a family that could no longer keep her. We were told that her dad lived next door and mom down the street. She lived with dad until 3 months and was given to her old owners. She is great on walks, never barks at passing dogs or people so she must have been socialized some. However at 11 months old I find it odd how everything seems so new to her. On walks everything seems so new and she will just stop and stare like she has never seen things that are common every day things. We were told she was kennel trained and kept outside while they were out somewhere. She refuses to stay outside very long w/o freaking out. And I just got her comfortable with her kennel. There's a huge difference between kennel trained and....will go in it unhappily. I feel like she was locked up most of the time bc she is a handful and not given much of an outlet for all of her energy. So I can't say I know for sure but I don't think she saw dogs on a daily basis like she does now.

Well, it's hard to say, but it sounds like she might have been around another dog at home, but not routinely exposed to *playing* with dogs outside her pack. And that's the key part. My boy, Dash, who didn't get ANY socialization for his first year can play just fine with my girl, Xena. But they live together so he's had lots of time to learn what works and what doesn't with her. (Not to mention she lets him get away with a LOT) Dash can learn a limited amount during a play session, but because he missed the key socialization period, he doesn't hold on to learning from occasional encounters PLUS he's always very amped to be around new dogs.

At this stage, I'd say watch her - is she learning how to play with the other dogs and holding on to what she learns from trip to trip? Or is she pretty much acting the same way, except for small improvements after corrections by other dogs? She is old enough that she should be moving away from 'bratty puppy' play and she's lost her 'puppy license' with other dogs (pups under 6mos tend to get a lot more leeway from adults w/their behavior) so they are going to put up with less.

Also, she would benefit from training classes, even if you know how to train her the skills yourself. The classes will help her learn how to behave in close proximity (but not playing) with other dogs, expose her to a new location (usually) and help you proof the skills you've practiced at home.

We go to the dog park every day and she seems to be making small improvements. She's just so amped up in the beginning of play. I def will be looking into classes for her tho. She really is learning what is appropriate and not. She does not seem to understand that what is okay with one dog isn't with others so she's just all over everyone. As long as we make her sit and calm down during play she doesn't get so riled up. She has a habit of getting so excited and then nipping on the legs, ears. It has become obvious in the last few days that she is just very vocal. The noises she makes are scary if you don't realize she's playing. Other dogs don't really like it at all until they see she's playing. And she's SO much faster than everyone else and when they start running she thinks its an invite to race. Which always annoys the others. She's making progress but I think a lot of it may be that I'm simply not at all used to the boxer play style. I'm starting to find her energy and excitement not only entertaining but refreshing. Wish I had that much energy and was as happy as she always is. Haha!

That is normal boxer play. The only issue is that other breeds aren't used to 'normal' boxer play. Some may feel threatened and take offense. She will have to learn what she can and can't do where other dogs are concerned. My two play as in the video but when their golden retriever friend from up the hill comes to visit all they do is run up & down the hills chasing and chasing. They don't box him at all. I don't even know what his reaction would be if they were to try. I would say as long as no fights break out, I would keep taking her and pay special attention to when she is getting too worked up. I don't believe that she is too old to learn this aspect of social behavior it just may take her longer. Chloe was 15 months old when we got her and didn't seem to know how to play. She'll be 2 next month and I can't stop her from playing now.

That's pretty much what she does. All the noise but when I look at her she's just licking them and pushing with her face. Tail wagging the whole time. She's a lot louder than that. Maybe I can try to video her. She's def playing though. I thought she went from playing to not playing but now I think she just gets more and more riled up and gets rougher as she goes. We haven't had any fights break out or any dog try to correct her yet. I read something about how dogs have calming signals. When she gets really excited and too rough and the other dog starts to get irritated I've noticed she actually does those calming signals for a couple seconds, play bows, and off they go again. I'm really quite proud of her. I was honestly hesitant to get a boxer. I have just always thought they weren't the breed for me. I'm so glad I did though bc she's so smart, loving, funny. She learns so fast. Sometimes she learns things id rather she didn't. The other day she somehow turned our stovetop on. Yea, that was odd. Still don't know how she did it.

Have you tried taking her for a long walk/run or give her some other form of exercise before taking her to the dog park? Boxers tend to have a lot more energy than most other dogs so maybe if some of that were burned off before she got to the dog park she wouldn't be so excited there.